This Blog monitors all terror activities of Indian Naxals ie., PWG (Peoples War Group) and Government policies to tackle naxal menace . PWG's current goal is to destablize India and Sub-Continent by a well coordinated strategy with the help of international revolutionaries and covert support from Pakistan and China .

Saturday, May 19, 2007

RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh police claim to have found incriminating documents from the house of People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) vice-president Vinayak Sen during the course of a search operation on Saturday.

Sen was arrested in Bilaspur last week under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2005 for his alleged links with Maoists.

"Hundreds of seized documents are being examined by our experts. We will be able to give details regarding these only after the examination is complete," said city SP BBS Rajput.

Sen, who runs an NGO, was arrested soon after police held Piyush Guha with letters written by senior Naxal ideologue Narayan Sanyal, currently in Raipur Central Jail. Police claimed Sen had visited not less than 35 times Raipur Central Jail to meet Sanyal in the last few months.

"We had been keeping an eye on many suspected Naxalite sympathisers for last seven months and the clinching evidence came after the arrest of Guha," said an official

Among India's Maoists: A rebel homeland in places forgotten by India's economic miracle

The Associated Press Friday, May 18, 2007

EDITOR'S NOTE — An Associated Press team recently made a rare visit into a region controlled by Indian guerrillas known as the Naxalites, guided for two days through the forests by a series of intermediaries until reaching a guerrilla camp.

IN THE DHAULI FOREST, India (AP) — After the paved roads have ended and the dirt roads have crumbled into winding footpaths, after the last power line has vanished into the forest behind you, a tall, red monument suddenly appears at the edge of a clearing.

It's 25 feet (7.6 meters) high and topped by a hammer and sickle, honoring a fallen warrior. White letters scroll across the base: "From the blood of a martyr, new generations will bloom like flowers."

The monument is a memorial but also a signpost, a warning that you are entering a "Liberated Zone" — a place where Mao is alive and Marx is revered, where an army of leftist guerrillas known as the Naxalites control a shadow state amid the dense forests, isolated villages and shattering poverty of central India. Here, the Indian government is just a distant, hated idea.

"The capitalists and other exploiters of the masses feel increasingly vulnerable. And they should," said a 33-year-old man known only as Ramu, a regional commander of the Naxalites' People's Liberation Guerrilla Army. He cradled an assault rifle as he sat on the dirt floor of a small farmhouse, temporary base for two dozen fighters set amid the forests of Chhattisgarh state. "For them, the danger is rising."

Initially formed in 1967, the Maoist army has taken root over the past decade in places left behind during India's spectacular financial rise since its economy was opened up in the early 1990s. Outsiders rarely see their strongholds, but a team from The Associated Press was invited last month into a region they control.

As India has grown wealthier, the Naxalites — officially called the Communist Party of India (Maoist) — have grown larger, feeding off the anger of the country's poor. There are now 10,000-15,000 fighters in an archipelago of rebel territory scattered across nearly half of the country's 28 states, security officials say.

For years, the government here paid little attention. That began changing two years ago. Today, Chhattisgarh state backs an anti-Naxal militia called the Salwa Judum. And in 2006, India's prime minister called the Naxalites the single largest threat to the country.

Over the past two years, nearly 2,000 people — police, militants and civilians caught in the middle — have been killed in Naxalite violence. In March, 55 policemen and government-backed militiamen were killed when up to 500 Naxalites descended on an isolated Chhattisgarh police station.

The rebel patchwork reaches from deep inside India to the border with Nepal, where the Naxalites are thought to have informal ties to the Maoists who, after a long insurgency, recently joined in the Katmandu government.

The Maoist goal in India is nothing less than complete takeover.

"There is only one solution to India's problems: Naxalism," said Ramu.

The movement takes its name from Naxalbari, a village outside Calcutta where the revolt began in 1967. Inspired by Mao Zedong, founding father of the Chinese communist regime, they believe an army of peasants can one day overthrow the government. The Naxals are strongest in states such as Chhattisgarh that have large populations of "tribals," the indigenous people at the bottom of India's rigid social order.

More than ever, their once-marginal revolt seems like outright war, particularly in the rebel strongholds of rural Chhattisgarh.

India deals with other insurgencies, from Kashmiri separatists to a spectrum of ethnic militant groups in its remote northeast. But the Naxalites have proven different. They have support not just among the poorest or a single ethnic group, and have survived for forty years.

In places like the Dhauli forest, a tangle of vegetation unmarked on most maps — 500 miles (800 kilometers) from Bangalore, 450 miles (724 kilometers) from Calcutta and 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) from New Delhi — the Naxalites are more than surviving. They are winning.

"I won't lie to you. We're on the defensive here," said a top Chhattisgarh police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. "We have the main roads, but they have the hills and the small roads."

Here, government officials hold little power. Through much of the countryside, nervous policemen barricade themselves at night inside stations ringed by barbed wire. Politicians dismiss the Naxalites as criminals, but those politicians go nowhere without armies of bodyguards.

Victory, the Naxals insist, is coming.

"We don't have the weapons. We don't have the army," said a young fighter named Soni. "But slowly, slowly, sometime in the future, we will succeed."

That seems unlikely.

Most of the Naxalites' guns are old or handmade. Their land mines are often made from pressure cookers, and bullets are doled out carefully. Their support in many villages has more to do with fear than genuine belief.

Their control can be fleeting. If security forces move into a Naxalite-run area, the fighters simply disappear into the forests.

But while there's little chance they'll overthrow the government, in this part of India their power is immense. Every day or so, another policeman is killed. Every few months, another politician faces an assassination attempt — sometimes successful, sometimes not.

Inside their self-proclaimed Liberated Zones, the Naxals are, effectively, the government. They collect taxes, control movement, and trade in valuable hardwoods from the ever-thinning jungles. They refuse entry not only to the government but also aid organizations, arguing they are tools of an unjust state.

There is an informal Naxal bank, Naxal schools and Naxal courts to settle village disputes and try suspected informants. For those found guilty of helping police, the punishment is public beheading.

"If they kill us, we also have to kill," Ramu said. "Innocent people will get hurt in the process. But what can we do?"

As for the long history of failed communist states, he was unconcerned: "We will learn from their mistakes."

Outside, a thunderstorm shook the sky, and rain pelted the straw roof. Inside, a half-dozen fighters sat in the darkness of the mud house, listening silently as Ramu spoke. One carried an AK-47 assault rifle, but the rest were armed with ancient British-made Enfield rifles, some dating to the 1940s, or homemade single-shot shotguns and rifles.

Few appeared to know much about the teachings of Marx or Mao, though both men were spoken of reverently. Some fighters believed Mao, who died in 1976, remains China's leader. Instead, their beliefs are simple: The revolution will bring an idyllic jungle paradise for the tribals.

"One day we will get it back," said Soni, the fighter, a tribal who spends much of her time in villages performing songs about their struggle. "The forest is ours."

For now, until paradise comes, people live in mud homes on tiny farms. They grow rice and tobacco and harvest what they can from the forests. Better-off families have 480-rupee (US$12;€9) shortwave radios or 1,800-rupee (US$45;€33) Atlas bicycles.

In a village on the fringes of Naxalite territory, a teenager named Meetu Ram — he thinks he's about 17 — talked about his life one recent evening. His family, by local standards, does well: They have a well-kept compound with three one-room buildings and a half-dozen cows.

Still, Ram has never been to a doctor, and has not even heard of telephones. Asked to name India's prime minister, he shrugged.

Government officials "never come here," he said in Gondi, the area's main tribal language. "So we don't know who these government people are, and who they aren't."

It is in places like this where the Naxalites' appeal is most resonant.

India may have one of the world's fastest-growing economies, but it also has vast — and often growing — rural poverty. In Chhattisgarh, that has been magnified by conflicts over everything from forest conservation to mining rights, with tribals often expelled from their jungle homes."The tribals make a good guerrilla base," said Meghnad Desai, a scholar at the London School of Economics. They "are really poor, and have a genuine feeling of being taken advantage of ... The Naxalites are exploiting that."

Much of Ramu's time is spent spreading the rebel message. On a recent afternoon, he summoned hundreds of villagers to a rally to decry the Salwa Judum.

While leaders of the government-supported Salwa Judum insist they are protecting villagers from Naxalite violence — they have gathered some 50,000 tribals into dingy, guarded camps — rights groups accuse them of widespread abuses.

"The Salwa Judum is killing people!" Ramu shouted at the villagers. "We are protecting the rights of the people!"

Many, though, don't see heroes on either side.

Sanjana Bhaskar, 18, has spent more than a year in a Salwa Judum camp. She fled there with her family after Naxalites slit her father's throat, while her stepmother watched, because he refused to give them money.

She hates the camp. "There is nothing here," she said, gesturing to the one-road expanse. "But where else can we go?"

Gadchiroli police are at the receiving end once again! This time, a senior BJP leader of the area has accused the men in khaki of gunning down two innocent tribals in a fake encounter on the pretext of Naxalites.

It was alleged that the personnel of anti-Naxalite cell had picked up Yelkurti Madnya Gattu and Ganglu Mallesh Gattu of Rangdhampetha in Sironcha tehsil of Gadchiroli district on February 25 last when they were in Borampalli jungle. They were kept in the custody of the police that night and were killed in a fake encounter at Tadgaon in Bhamragarh tehsil, far away from Rangdhampetha on February 26, claimed the senior BJP leader of the district, Madhusudan Aravelli.

He alleged that the police personnel of Naxalites' cell deliberately designed an "encounter drama". "The police abducted them from the jungle before the encounter. The police staged the encounter next day and enacted a drama of exchange of fire." He found fault with the district police for conducting the post-mortem at the encounter site instead of bringing the bodies to the hospital.

Narasingharao Silaveri, a human rights activist and general secretary of Gadchiroli Manav Adhikar Kalyan Samiti, has lodged a complaint with the state human rights commission and urged to probe the matter immediately. A copy of the letter was also sent to the deputy chief minister, RR Patil, who also holds the Home portfolio, Silaveri informed. This is not the first time that such allegations were raised against the Gadchiroli police. Earlier, several times it faced charges of human rights violations, he added.

The entire issue is quite significant when the state police arrested four alleged Naxalites, including a top Maoist, Murali and the Mumbai-based Arun Ferreira at Nagpur last week and allegations were made that they were being tortured by the police. They even told the court that the police might kill them in fake encounters.

However, SDPO of Gadchiroli, Vinay Rathod dismissed the allegations saying persons who were killed in the encounters in Gadchiroli were not from the Randhampetha village. "Four-five days after the encounters, both the brothers of Yelkurti and Ganglu came to Gadchiroli police headquarters for verifications of the bodies. After seeing the bodies at morgue they were convinced that they were not the persons they were looking for. They even made a recent statement accordingly. After that wives of Yelkurti and Ganglu came to the police headquarters and saw the bodies. They were equally satisfied that bodies were not of Yelkurti and Ganglu," he pointed out.

After disposing the bodies, now a section of people are making it an issue, he said and alleged that the recent hue and cry was a part of strategy of the Naxalites to defame the police.

Former SP of Gadchiroli, Shirish Jain, who was transferred last week to Hyderabad on deputation, said that the entire hullabaloo on the issue was just to demoralise the district police, who have been effectively curbing the Naxalite menace by giving a befitting reply to the Maoists. He claimed that persons who were killed in the encounter were hardcore Naxalites and felt that both the youth of Rangdhampetha, who are missing might have joined the Naxalite movement.

"Both were known Naxalite sympathisers and later joined the outlawed organisation that might have not been known by the family members," he observed.

Gadchiroli police are at the receiving end once again! This time, a senior BJP leader of the area has accused the men in khaki of gunning down two innocent tribals in a fake encounter on the pretext of Naxalites.

It was alleged that the personnel of anti-Naxalite cell had picked up Yelkurti Madnya Gattu and Ganglu Mallesh Gattu of Rangdhampetha in Sironcha tehsil of Gadchiroli district on February 25 last when they were in Borampalli jungle. They were kept in the custody of the police that night and were killed in a fake encounter at Tadgaon in Bhamragarh tehsil, far away from Rangdhampetha on February 26, claimed the senior BJP leader of the district, Madhusudan Aravelli.

He alleged that the police personnel of Naxalites' cell deliberately designed an "encounter drama". "The police abducted them from the jungle before the encounter. The police staged the encounter next day and enacted a drama of exchange of fire." He found fault with the district police for conducting the post-mortem at the encounter site instead of bringing the bodies to the hospital.

Narasingharao Silaveri, a human rights activist and general secretary of Gadchiroli Manav Adhikar Kalyan Samiti, has lodged a complaint with the state human rights commission and urged to probe the matter immediately. A copy of the letter was also sent to the deputy chief minister, RR Patil, who also holds the Home portfolio, Silaveri informed. This is not the first time that such allegations were raised against the Gadchiroli police. Earlier, several times it faced charges of human rights violations, he added.

The entire issue is quite significant when the state police arrested four alleged Naxalites, including a top Maoist, Murali and the Mumbai-based Arun Ferreira at Nagpur last week and allegations were made that they were being tortured by the police. They even told the court that the police might kill them in fake encounters.

However, SDPO of Gadchiroli, Vinay Rathod dismissed the allegations saying persons who were killed in the encounters in Gadchiroli were not from the Randhampetha village. "Four-five days after the encounters, both the brothers of Yelkurti and Ganglu came to Gadchiroli police headquarters for verifications of the bodies. After seeing the bodies at morgue they were convinced that they were not the persons they were looking for. They even made a recent statement accordingly. After that wives of Yelkurti and Ganglu came to the police headquarters and saw the bodies. They were equally satisfied that bodies were not of Yelkurti and Ganglu," he pointed out.

After disposing the bodies, now a section of people are making it an issue, he said and alleged that the recent hue and cry was a part of strategy of the Naxalites to defame the police.

Former SP of Gadchiroli, Shirish Jain, who was transferred last week to Hyderabad on deputation, said that the entire hullabaloo on the issue was just to demoralise the district police, who have been effectively curbing the Naxalite menace by giving a befitting reply to the Maoists. He claimed that persons who were killed in the encounter were hardcore Naxalites and felt that both the youth of Rangdhampetha, who are missing might have joined the Naxalite movement.

"Both were known Naxalite sympathisers and later joined the outlawed organisation that might have not been known by the family members," he observed.

RAIPUR: The Intelligence Bureau (IB) has sought information from their Chhattisgarh wing following protests over the recent arrest of People's Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL) vice-president Vinayak Sen.

Sources said Sen, a medical practitioner, runs an NGO and was arrested following the statement of Piyush Guha, an alleged Naxalite courier.

Several letters that were written allegedly by Narayan Sanyal, a top Naxalite ideologue, were recovered from Guha's possession.

According to the sources, these letters were handed over to Guha by Sen who had been in regular touch with the Naxalite ideologue.

A senior official said that over the past few months, Sen had visited the Raipur Central Jail, where Sanyal is lodged, over 30 times. "We had been investigating these links over the past few months and the clinching evidence came after the arrest of Guha," an official said.

Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh police have decided to put persons and organisations with suspected Maoist links under a scanner. State security agencies have begun an exercise aimed at identifying and investigating suspects under the Chhattisgarh Public Safety Act 2005.

The Supreme Court has issued notices to the state of Chhattisgarh on a petition seeking directions to the state government to refrain from supporting, encouraging or promoting in any manner whatsver the activities of the security forces sponsored 'Salwa Judum' (jan jagran abhiyan) movement launched in Dantewada district of the state.

A bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice R V Raveendran on a petition filed by Nandini Sundar and others also directed the respondent to conduct an independent and impartial enquiry under the gis of the apex court into the incidents of killings, abductions, rape, arson and gross violations of human rights by security forces and Salwa Judum activists in their attempt to counter the naxalites in the district as well as investigate the killings carried out by the naxals.

According to the petitioner, the Salwa Judum movement was launched to combat the naxal menace and it is a deliberate state sponsored strategy to counter the naxalites in Dantewada district .

Several independent NGO enquiries and the National Commission for Women have demonstrated against the manner in which the Salwa Judum is clearly funded and promoted by the state and intensified violence and utter lawlesness in the district is the result of this so called vigilant movement.

The petitioners have also alleged that in frequent raids on villages conducted jointly by the Salwa Judum and the security forces, suspected naxal sympathisers (sangham members) are beaten and brutally killed, their houses torched and live stock looted.

In some instances, the raids continue till the entire village is cleared and the villagers are compelled to move into Salwa Judum camps.

This is the outcome of the district collecter's proposal to make the movement a success and to weaken the rural base of the naxals in order to eradicate them from the state.

Doctor Binayak Sen (right) has been arrested by the state police on charges of supporting Naxalites

In Chhattisgarh, Doctor Binayak Sen has been arrested by the state police on charges of supporting Naxalites.

Sen has been working closely with tribals in Chhattisgarh and is a critic of the state sponsored anti-naxal campaign. He was arrested for his alleged links with jailed Naxal leader Narayan Sanyal.

The state government claims that they have enough evidence against Dr Sen but have come under intense pressure from former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi and human rights activists, who claim that the government is being unjust.

TIMES NOW has learnt that the Intelligence Bureau is now investigating the case, to whom the state police has given copies of letters allegedly written by Dr Sen to Naxal Leader Sanyal, a clear evidence of proof to keep Sen in prison.

Opposing voices

Despite the state government's conviction, the voices against Sen's arrest are growing with human rights activists taking on to the streets alleging atrocities by the state government.

“I would like to challenge the government and the DGP of the state that if they even point out one sentence which proves to be false in the report submitted, I am ready to apologise and resign,” said Chhattisgarh State president Rajendra Sayal.

The fight over Sen's arrest has got political with former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi joining the anti-arrest campaign labelling the state government as a fascist.

Sen has been at the forefront of tribal welfare activities and has crossed paths with the state administration on various issues including his opposition to the anti-naxal campaign

"I had met Narayan Sanyal in the presence of the jailor. I have always met him openly and have never met him in a clandestine manner," Sen said.

Despite the opposition, the state govt is not willing to relent as Chhattisgarh has struggled with a naxal problem and the govt believes all caution must be taken.

The police in Gaya on Thursday morning, recovered over 500 kilogram of Ammonium Nitrate used for making highly potent explosives, from a village under Mohanpur police station, Gaya Superintendent of Police (SP) Amit Kumar Jain said.

While no one has been arrested in the case, the police said the area where raids were conducted is a Maoist stronghold and further raids were on to capture the extremists.

All the bags have marks indicating they were shipped to Bihar from Andhra Pradesh where Naxal menace is even more intense than in Bihar, the SP said.

"Based on the intelligence report we have, raids have been intensified in many areas and we expect and hope to make some arrests shortly," he said.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Thursday 17th of May 2007 The Supreme Court today turned down the demand for a CBI inquiry into the Gujarat fake encounter case in which Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kausar Bi were allegedly killed by the state Police in November 2005. The ruling is seen as a major relief to the Narendra Modi government.

A Bench comprising Justices Tarun Chatterjee and P K Balasubramanyan also directed the Gujarat Police to submit the final investigation report latest by July 3 and adjourned the hearing till July 16. The apex court also refused to accept the allegation that Kausar Bi was also killed in the encounter since her body or remains were yet to be recovered. Therefore, her death cannot be said to havebeen confirmed, the court added.

-- Analysis By Cho Ramaswami --

The "false encounter killings" and its appendages of a series of litigations in Gujarat continue to be currency as far as news values go, even today. An encounter [killing] is a sudden occurrence when prisoners accused of extremist violence, or notorious criminals or agent provocateurs [acting against the interests of India's unity] challenge the arms of the law attempting to apprehend them or try to escape during their legal trial. The consequence is an exchange of fire. If the scofflaw dies as a result, the incident is usually accepted as a measure in self defence of those upholding the law.

When parameters such as "self-defence" against known extremists, terrorists, and/or antisocial elements are not applicable to the deeds of death by the police, they are termed "false encounters" a euphemism for cold blooded murder. Two years ago, one Sohrabuddin, an alleged go-between for terrorists and an antisocial element was shot dead in an "encounter." [Now the world knows] that it was not an "encounter" within the ambit of its meaning and instead was a wanton slaughter by a police posse. Worse, this person's wife, who was said to be a witness to the crime, was also "disposed off" in the same manner.

The details of this premeditated decimation morphed into a dreaded deal of triggered deaths. Finally, the Gujarat government admitted before the Supreme Court that the two incidents had been wanton slayings. The Apex Court is yet to give its ruling on the demand for a CBI probe into the matter. Perhaps, the state government has deduced that more skeletons will tumble out of its cupboard if such a situation comes to pass and hence has pre-empted its critics' move by launching its own investigation and "sang" before the judiciary.

Since there are indications pointing to the complicity of the police forces in Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh in this imbroglio, the Gujarat investigators have attempted to arrest the respective states' officers as well. In all probability this too might be a ruse to head off the clamour for a [more impartial] CBI investigation.

The matter is a convenient stick in the hands of the Congress and the Communist parties to beat Gujarat Chief Minister [Narendra] Modi because he has been already termed as a Hindu chauvinist by them. There is nothing to be surprised about this because the [combination of secular-left-leaning] political outfits have damned him in the past. It must be admitted that no matter how dangerous a death-dealing dreaded desperado is, the normal [and legal] course of action should be an arrest and a consequent prosecution. Instead, if such a person is simply killed, it is a reprehensible, criminal offence. If the police have the leave to dole out instantaneous death sentences, it is bound to result in its misuse. Those suspected to be political foes of a ruling party of a state, its police, will be snuffled out at the drop of a hat.

[Naturally] the police cannot be accorded such a carte blanche. However, if a dangerous hardened criminal who is a threat to the society at large, is disposed off by the police, can it be called a foul murder? Or should it be deemed that the uniformed fraternity carried out a social responsibility? If one has to go strictly by the law, even such acts are plain and simple murders. Yet, the common public at large, [in some states] welcome it.

What is the real reason for this contradiction? If absolute innocents, political enemies of parties in power, foes of the police et al are murdered in cold blood under the guise of 'encounters," [no matter how highly placed], the guilty have to be brought to book. But, when enemies of the nation, or those who trouble the citizens of the country for personal benefits, or persons with a track record of heinous crimes who have terrorised witnesses who could have deposed against them into perpetual submission are done away with in this fashion, regardless of the fact that whether it is a real or fake encounter, it is the duty of any legally elected government to ensure that the matter isn't exhumed into embarrassment.

Many may consider this as a cruel travesty of justice. But, an administration that doesn't use its iron hand in times of need, has to be derided as impotent. If one were to analyze the encounters that have taken place in the length and breadth of the country, but for the odd exceptions, almost all of them are bound to be deduced as fake ones. Ipso facto, all the tidings about stray 'fake encounters' ought to be considered as 'fake' since almost the whole lot of them are liable to be tagged as that anyway. So crib about just a few? And if such occurrences do not take place at all, the common man's right to live a safe, dignified life will end up becoming illegally negotiable.

To come back to the Gujarat case that entails the murder of an absolutely innocent person â€“ the wife of Sohrabuddin â€“ certainly needs to be tried in public and the guilty must be punished. The courts' interest in pursuing the matter is surely called for. But, while saying this, I also have to add that my opinion of the whole matter may not have been the same if the woman in question hadn't been killed.

Sometimes, inhuman acts against those who are its very personifications can be termed deeds of compassion towards the largest section of the society.

The defence counsels of two hardcore Naxalites Arun Ferreira and Murali arrested recently, sought the reasons on the proposal for Narco-analysis test and brain-mapping, submitted by Nagpur Police in the court in Nagpur on Monday.

The city police have said that it was essential for conduct Narco-analysis and other tests in view of their anti-national and violent activities and filed an application seeking the court’s permission on it.

Police pointed out that interrogation of Mumbai-based naxalite, Ferreira was a challenge for them since he was a hardcore ultra-leftist and hardly disclosed anything to police.

The Bandra resident is proficient in computers and was the in-charge of propaganda and communication network of CPI (Maoist).

There is a scope for a huge investigation into Ferreira and Murali’s links with the top-ranking naxalite leaders of the CPI (Maoist) spanning Border States and their role in the organisation.

The local police are also trying to asses the other details of Mumbai-based naxalite. Pamphlets and naxalite literatures were seized from him during the arrest and his Bandra home, too, are under the scanner.

According to police, pen-drive that recovered from Ferreira, contained sensitive information about possible targets and various recent anti-establishment strategies. A dairy has also been recovered from them. The dairy contained details about names of police officials, targeted by them and other vital information about their plans.

However, the Defence counsels pointed out that they have not received the reasons and proposals of the police for doing such tests. After hearing both the sides, the Court granted time to the Defence lawyers to file reply by May 16 next.

Ferreira, the top naxalite Murali and two others were arrested at Nagpur when they were trying to hold a secret meeting at Deekshabhoomi on May 8. The four have been remanded to police custody till May 16.

Pen-drive recovered from him contained information on possible Naxalite targets

Anti-Naxalite unit officers claimed on Sunday that Bandra resident Arun Ferreira's arrest should be probed as a national security threat case. Senior officers believe there is scope for a huge investigation into Ferreira's links with the upper-echelon members of the ultra-Left movement - spanning several states - and his role in the overall scheme of things.

Senior investigating officers said Ferreira's pen-drive, which was allegedly recovered from him, contain "sensitive" information about possible targets and various recent anti-establishment strategies.

The intelligence and police are trying to assess the "contours and implications" of the information. Pamphlets and other ultra-Left literature, seized from Ferreira's Bandra home, too, are under the scanner.

"We are analysing every bit of information about Ferreira at our disposal which will eventually help us secure the full picture linking him with the larger Naxalite schemes," said special inspector general of police (anti-Naxalite operations) Pankaj Gupta.

"But the process may take some time as Ferreira is not co-operating with the police," said another senior police officer.

Sources said Ferreira's arrest case could throw light on the "urban-centric" plans (trends and scope) devised by the Naxalites-Maoists ever since the Maoist Communist Centre and the People's War Group merged into a single unit in September 2004.

“Ferreira ideologically belonged to a section of the banned ultra-Left groups and the seizure of membership forms/documents and allied stuff justify our claims," the officer added.

IN THE DHAULI FOREST, India -- After the paved roads have ended and the dirt roads have crumbled into winding footpaths, after the last power line has vanished into the forest behind you, a tall, red monument suddenly appears at the edge of a clearing.

It's 25 feet high and topped by a hammer and sickle, honoring a fallen warrior. White letters scroll across the base: "From the blood of a martyr, new generations will bloom like flowers."

The monument is a memorial but also a signpost, a warning that you are entering a "Liberated Zone" - a place where Mao is alive and Marx is revered, where an army of leftist guerrillas known as the Naxalites control a shadow state amid the dense forests, isolated villages and shattering poverty of central India. Here, the Indian government is just a distant, hated idea.

"The capitalists and other exploiters of the masses feel increasingly vulnerable. And they should," said a 33-year-old man known only as Ramu, a regional commander of the Naxalites' People's Liberation Guerrilla Army. He cradled an assault rifle as he sat on the dirt floor of a small farmhouse, temporary base for two dozen fighters set amid the forests of Chhattisgarh state. "For them, the danger is rising."

Initially formed in 1967, the Maoist army has taken root over the past decade in places left behind during India's spectacular financial rise since its economy was opened up in the early 1990s. Outsiders rarely see their strongholds, but a team from The Associated Press was invited last month into a region they control.

As India has grown wealthier, the Naxalites - officially called the Communist Party of India (Maoist) - have grown larger, feeding off the anger of the country's poor. There are now 10,000-15,000 fighters in an archipelago of rebel territory scattered across nearly half of the country's 28 states, security officials say.

For years, the government here paid little attention. That began changing two years ago. Today, Chhattisgarh state backs an anti-Naxal militia called the Salwa Judum. And in 2006, India's prime minister called the Naxalites the single largest threat to the country.

Over the past two years, nearly 2,000 people - police, militants and civilians caught in the middle - have been killed in Naxalite violence. In March, 55 policemen and government-backed militiamen were killed when up to 500 Naxalites descended on an isolated Chhattisgarh police station.

The rebel patchwork reaches from deep inside India to the border with Nepal, where the Naxalites are thought to have informal ties to the Maoists who, after a long insurgency, recently joined in the Katmandu government.

The Maoist goal in India is nothing less than complete takeover.

"There is only one solution to India's problems: Naxalism," said Ramu.

The movement takes its name from Naxalbari, a village outside Calcutta where the revolt began in 1967. Inspired by Mao Zedong, founding father of the Chinese communist regime, they believe an army of peasants can one day overthrow the government. The Naxals are strongest in states such as Chhattisgarh that have large populations of "tribals," the indigenous people at the bottom of India's rigid social order.

More than ever, their once-marginal revolt seems like outright war, particularly in the rebel strongholds of rural Chhattisgarh.

India deals with other insurgencies, from Kashmiri separatists to a spectrum of ethnic militant groups in its remote northeast. But the Naxalites have proven different. They have support not just among the poorest or a single ethnic group, and have survived for forty years.

In places like the Dhauli forest, a tangle of vegetation unmarked on most maps - 500 miles from Bangalore, 450 miles from Calcutta and 600 miles from New Delhi - the Naxalites are more than surviving. They are winning.

"I won't lie to you. We're on the defensive here," said a top Chhattisgarh police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. "We have the main roads, but they have the hills and the small roads."

Here, government officials hold little power. Through much of the countryside, nervous policemen barricade themselves at night inside stations ringed by barbed wire. Politicians dismiss the Naxalites as criminals, but those politicians go nowhere without armies of bodyguards.

Victory, the Naxals insist, is coming.

"We don't have the weapons. We don't have the army," said a young fighter named Soni. "But slowly, slowly, sometime in the future, we will succeed."

That seems unlikely.

Most of the Naxalites' guns are old or handmade. Their land mines are often made from pressure cookers, and bullets are doled out carefully. Their support in many villages has more to do with fear than genuine belief.

Their control can be fleeting. If security forces move into a Naxalite-run area, the fighters simply disappear into the forests.

But while there's little chance they'll overthrow the government, in this part of India their power is immense. Every day or so, another policeman is killed. Every few months, another politician faces an assassination attempt - sometimes successful, sometimes not.

Inside their self-proclaimed Liberated Zones, the Naxals are, effectively, the government. They collect taxes, control movement, and trade in valuable hardwoods from the ever-thinning jungles. They refuse entry not only to the government but also aid organizations, arguing they are tools of an unjust state.

There is an informal Naxal bank, Naxal schools and Naxal courts to settle village disputes and try suspected informants. For those found guilty of helping police, the punishment is public beheading.

"If they kill us, we also have to kill," Ramu said. "Innocent people will get hurt in the process. But what can we do?"

As for the long history of failed communist states, he was unconcerned: "We will learn from their mistakes."

Outside, a thunderstorm shook the sky, and rain pelted the straw roof. Inside, a half-dozen fighters sat in the darkness of the mud house, listening silently as Ramu spoke. One carried an AK-47 assault rifle, but the rest were armed with ancient British-made Enfield rifles, some dating to the 1940s, or homemade single-shot shotguns and rifles.

Few appeared to know much about the teachings of Marx or Mao, though both men were spoken of reverently. Some fighters believed Mao, who died in 1976, remains China's leader. Instead, their beliefs are simple: The revolution will bring an idyllic jungle paradise for the tribals.

"One day we will get it back," said Soni, the fighter, a tribal who spends much of her time in villages performing songs about their struggle. "The forest is ours."

For now, until paradise comes, people live in mud homes on tiny farms. They grow rice and tobacco and harvest what they can from the forests. Better-off families have $12 shortwave radios or $45 Atlas bicycles.

In a village on the fringes of Naxalite territory, a teenager named Meetu Ram - he thinks he's about 17 - talked about his life one recent evening. His family, by local standards, does well: They have a well-kept compound with three one-room buildings and a half-dozen cows.

Still, Ram has never been to a doctor, and has not even heard of telephones. Asked to name India's prime minister, he shrugged.

Government officials "never come here," he said in Gondi, the area's main tribal language. "So we don't know who these government people are, and who they aren't."

It is in places like this where the Naxalites' appeal is most resonant.

India may have one of the world's fastest-growing economies, but it also has vast - and often growing - rural poverty. In Chhattisgarh, that has been magnified by conflicts over everything from forest conservation to mining rights, with tribals often expelled from their jungle homes.

"The tribals make a good guerrilla base," said Meghnad Desai, a scholar at the London School of Economics. They "are really poor, and have a genuine feeling of being taken advantage of ... The Naxalites are exploiting that."

Much of Ramu's time is spent spreading the rebel message. On a recent afternoon, he summoned hundreds of villagers to a rally to decry the Salwa Judum.

While leaders of the government-supported Salwa Judum insist they are protecting villagers from Naxalite violence - they have gathered some 50,000 tribals into dingy, guarded camps - rights groups accuse them of widespread abuses.

"The Salwa Judum is killing people!" Ramu shouted at the villagers. "We are protecting the rights of the people!"

Many, though, don't see heroes on either side.

Sanjana Bhaskar, 18, has spent more than a year in a Salwa Judum camp. She fled there with her family after Naxalites slit her father's throat, while her stepmother watched, because he refused to give them money.

She hates the camp. "There is nothing here," she said, gesturing to the one-road expanse. "But where else can we go?"

Friday May 18 2007 13:19 IST Click here to get the latest Andhra Pradesh news on your BSNL mobile for Re.1 a day.

SRIKAKULAM: In a shocking incident, assistant commandant of Central Reserve Police Force Luv Kumar Devaraj (23) shot himself dead with his service revolver at his camp office on Thursday.

He fired a bullet in his forehead shortly after having lunch. Earlier, he met the Superintendent of Police Manish K Sinha who came to Palasa to participate in ‘Melukolupu’, a programme aimed at bringing the Maoists into mainstream.

In a letter found near his body, Devaraj has written that he was dejected with his failure to qualify in the Civil Services examinations held recently and also attributed his extreme step to some family problems.

Devaraj was a native of Guntur district. His father Kollayappa is a retired government employee and mother Bharati Devi is working as tahsildar of Marripudi village in Prakasam district.

SP Sinha told this website's newspaper that Devaraj expressed his frustration due to failure in securing minimum marks in UPSC examinations. Devaraj was visibly upset with it and SP consoled him.

But, the incident came as a bolt from the blue. Meanwhile, Devaraj’s body was sent for post-mortem to the area hospital at Palasa. It will be shifted to his native place on Friday.

CRPF Deputy Inspector General A Srinivasa Rao and Visakha Range DIG of police Jitender paid last respects to the departed official.

May 18 (Bloomberg) -- At least five people were killed and more than eight injured when a bomb exploded at a mosque in Hyderabad, the capital of India's southern state of Andhra Pradesh, during Friday's afternoon prayers.

The blast took place at about 1:30 p.m. local time at the Mecca mosque, one of India's oldest, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, the chief minister of the state, told reporters in New Delhi today.

``It's an intentional sabotage on the peace and tranquility of the state,'' Reddy said in the televised news conference. ``We are trying to bring normalcy back.''

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ``condemned the blast and urged members of all communities to maintain peace and communal harmony,'' in a statement issued by e-mail in New Delhi today.

Two other bombs detected at the site were defused, the chief minister said. Reddy, who also appealed for religious harmony, said those who wanted to create conflict between India's communities were responsible.

The NDTV 24x7 television channel showed pictures of injured people being taken away in ambulances. The blast was followed by police being pelted with stones by the crowds around the mosque, the channel said. The area has been cordoned off and all shops around the mosque have been ordered shut, the channel reported.

India has been facing terrorist attacks, including rebel activities in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir and some northeastern states, besides Maoist guerrilla insurgency in the southern and eastern states.

The country had its worst terrorist attack in 13 years in July last year, when bombs on commuter trains in the country's financial capital Mumbai killed at least 182 people. Explosions near a mosque in the western town of Malegaon in Maharashtra in September left 31 people dead.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bibhudatta Pradhan in New Delhi at bpradhan@bloomberg.net .

Srikakulam, May 18: How do the parents and the near and the dear feel about their siblings who went underground as extremists some 20 years ago? Over 25 families, whose members went underground, have expressed strong yearning to see them.

They have also want their siblings to come out and join the mainstream of society. Such views were expressed by the kin of extremists at a meeting organised by the police at Palasa, 65 km from here, on Thursday.

Whether it is Selluri Neelama, 55, of Madanapuram village, whose son went underground 20 years ago, or Lakhsamamma, 50, whose son also went underground some 15 years ago, the desire was the same. "We want our sons to come out and lead a normal life." This was their appeal through the media.

Addressing the meeting, Superintendent of Police Manish Kumar Sinha said that the Government would rehabilitate all the surrendered extremists irrespective of seriousness of crime they committed. There would not be any pressure or harassment from the police.

The idea was to ensure a normal life to the surrendered extremists by extending all possible assistance, Mr. Sinha said. The Government allocated Rs.16 crores for rehabilitation of the surrendered extremists, he said. Mr. Sinha announced that the police would adopt the families who had attended the counselling meeting called `Melukolupu.'

Tension is brewing in the border districts of Chandrapur, Gadchiroli and Gondia in eastern Vidarbha region in the wake of the Naxalite bandh, called by the CPI (Maoist) on May 24 in protest against the recent arrest of four alleged Naxalites, including Murali Satya Reddy and Arun Ferreira, at Nagpur last week.

According to reports reaching Nagpur on Friday, Maoists are determined to bring these districts---bordering Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh--- to a complete standstill on May 24. They have distributed pamphlets and leaflets in this regard and appealed the villagers for ensuring its success.

Anticipating Maoist violence in three troubled districts during the bandh, additional police force is being deployed in the region to tackle the situation. Moreover, police patrolling in all the sensitive areas has also been spruced up in view of possible violence. "We have received the information about the Naxalite designs and are ready to face any eventuality," asserted Pankaj Gupta, inspector general of police (IGP), anti-Naxalite cell.

The intelligence inputs have also warned that the ultra-leftists can trigger large-scale violence using sophisticated arms and landmine blasts. Maoists are trying to mobilise tribals of these districts by instigating them that police were torturing the alleged Naxalites at Nagpur.

The secretary of North Gadchiroli-Gondia-Balaghat and Rajnandgaon division, Murali, the communication expert of the outfit, Ferreira and two others were arrested by the police in Nagpur when they were trying to hold a secret meeting at Deekshabhoomi on May 8. All are now in police custody and would be sent to Mumbai for the narco-analysis and brain-mapping tests soon.

After the arrest of Bandra resident Arun Ferreira, the Anti-Naxalite unit of the state police is now trying to find out the extent of Naxalite activities in cities across the state.

An officer said Ferreira was “attached” to a city-based group, having strong Naxalite affinities. Ferreira’s wife Jennifer too is under the scanner. Police are keeping tabs on her “activities” to get an idea how pro-Maoist groups are operating in the city and other parts of the state. Last year, the State Intelligence Department had blacklisted 59 city NGOs for funding the Naxalites.

Earlier, officers from the Anti-Naxalite Unit had told DNA that the Maoists operate within cities like Mumbai, Thane and Pune after registering their existence through proxy students and labour organisations.

Ferreira was, however, a member of the Vidyarthi Pragati Sangathana (VPS) that operates from an “undisclosed location” near Byculla. An officer said on Thursday that VPS had kept its activities “skillfully” under wraps.

Another organisations that operates in the area is the Akhil Maharashtra Kamgar Union (AMKU), which too has ultra-Left leanings. Ferreira promoted AMKU activities in several parts of the state, another officer said.

“We are trying to find out Ferreira’s links with other fellow comrades across the country,” special inspector general of police (Anti-Naxalite operations) Pankaj Gupta said.

Intelligence Bureau officers along with police officers from Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh are now interrogating Ferreira about his “nature of work” and other activities.

“Ferreira’s ideological proximity with a few banned underground pro-Naxalite groups has been proved. A few documents seized from him during his arrest are a testimony to this,” said an IB officer.

Raipur, May 18: A CRPF jawan was killed today and three others injured in an IED blast in Chattisgarh's naxal affected Dantewada district, the police said.

"A CRPF party today came in contact with an IED and in that blast one jawan was killed on the spot and three others were seriously injured," Dantewada District Superintendent of Police Rahul Sharma told reporters.

The injured have been admitted to hospital and are said to be out of danger, he said.

The incident occurred at Pharaspal village which is about 390 km from here, Sharma said.

Search operations were being carried out in the area, he added.

Police had shot dead two maoists and apprehended one yesterday from outskirt of Dantewada district and today's blast could be in consequence of that, the police said.

Reports are coming in of a blast at the Mecca Masjid in Old Hyderabad. The blast occurred during Friday Prayers as the mosque. Mecca Masjid is the largest mosque in Hyderabad and is located near the famous Char Minar.

Terrorists have targeted Hindu Temples and Moslem Mosques in attacks in India over the past 5-6 years, with designs of starting religious riots. The Indian society has not seen riots since 2002 Godhra incident and has stood firm against malicious designs of the enemy.

There is also sufficient reason to suspect a maoist/naxal link to this attack. Maoism is traditionally opposed to all religion and Hinduism and Islam are two of the largest religious groups in India, often having hostile relations with Maoists.

Mecca Masjid is known as the city's oldest mosque. Nearly 10,000 people gather at the mosque for Friday prayers. Police said the explosion appeared to have been caused by an unsophisticated device. However, the motive behind the blast was still not clear. Further details are awaited.

VOICE FOR VOICELESS: Writer and social activist Arundhati Roy addressing a press conference held against the arrest of Binayak Sen, general secretary, Chhattisgarh PUCL, in New Delhi on Thursday. — Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

NEW DELHI : Alleging that fake encounters in the past two years have claimed the lives of 155 people in Chhattisgarh, members of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) on Thursday accused the State Government of subjecting Adivasis to atrocities under the garb of Salwa Judum — a people's movement against terrorism and naxalism initiated by the Government in June 2005.

The recent arrest of PUCL member Binayak Sen in Chhattisgarh, they said, was an example of the Government's repression on voices that drew attention to human rights violations.

Members of the PUCL, who organised a demonstration outside the Chhattisgarh Bhavan in the capital on Thursday, have sought Dr. Sen's unconditional release.

They accused the Government of "framing" Dr. Sen, a paediatrician and the vice-president of the PUCL in Chhattisgarh. He was arrested on May 14 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 2004, and the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005.

Later addressing a press conference, Harish Dhawan of the People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) said Dr. Sen had been falsely implicated.

``The State Government has unleashed terror and the police have not yet filed a First Information Report. Threats to PUCL members and Dr. Sen had begun two-and-a-half years ago, because we had begun to draw attention to the large-scale killings, rapes and human rights violation that went unreported."

Condemning the arrest of Dr. Sen, the former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, Justice Rajinder Sachar, said: "PUCL members are committed to non-violence.

``Violence cannot be tolerated; State violence is no less than any other violence. POTA's draconian laws have been incorporated in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 2004."

`Dangerous trend'

Criticising Salwa Judum, noted writer Arundhati Roy said: "What has happened to Dr. Sen is what has been happening to the people of Chhattisgarh; people who are not heard, who have no voices. It all begins with the creation of Salwa Judum. Both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party are colluding to create a people's militia and using unemployed people as special protection officers. This is a dangerous trend... which will result in the society becoming militarised."

Advocate Prashant Bhushan accused the Government of orchestrating "land grabbing" and repressing the Adivasis who raise their voice against this. Joining the PUCL in seeking the release of Dr. Sen were members of the PUDR, Medicos Friend Circle, the National Alliance for People's Movement, the Socialist Front, Saheli and the Delhi Solidarity Group.

Statesman News Service BARIPADA, May 17: Distressed by the fact that as many as three forest officials had been killed by Maoists in recent times, the All Orissa Non-gazette Forest Service Association (AONFSA), Mayurbhanj unit, iterated its long pending demand for proper training, arms and modern equipment.

Mr Niranjan Pratihari, secretary of the AONFSA, said that forest officials working at the field level were like sitting ducks for the ultras and repeated plea for arms and communication equipment had fallen on deaf ears. Two foresters were killed in Dhenkanal district, while another unarmed forest official was the victim of radicals in Mayrbhanj district, he said. In another incident last week at the Chadahipahadi grama panchayat area of Sergada section in the Simlipal forest, Maoists triggered a land-mine blast. “We want sophisticated weapons, insurance and police powers to perform our duties,” he stated. “Forest employees are working in the dense forests in totally adverse situations braving all odds. But the presence of Maoists in the forests and latest killings have panicked us as also our family members,” Mr Pratihari said. The AONFSA has been demanding that the state government should offer at least three-government jobs to the unmarried daughters of Rabindra Nath Patra (victim of Maoist attack) because of their poor economic condition.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Patna, May 17: Police recovered a large quantity of explosives from Bihar's Gaya district Thursday morning.

Amit Jain, Superintendent of Police, Gaya district said police have recovered 500 kg of explosives from a village in the Mohanpur police station area, about 125 km from here.

The area is considered to be a stronghold of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist. However, no one has been arrested in this regard.

The explosives seized was identified as Ammonium Nitrate, which is used for making improvised explosive devices and bombs.

Jain said clear marks on the bags indicated that the explosives had been brought from Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh. Police suspect Maoist guerrillas had dumped the explosives and are trying to establish details of the explosives.

Jain said it was a matter of serious concern that explosives recovered again in the Maoist stronghold of Mohanpur. In February this year police recovered 1,500 kilograms of explosives from a forest in the Mohanpur police station area. --- IANS

District force policemen opened fire on a group of six Maoist rebels at Nayapara area in the district, killing two of them on the spot. One rebel was nabbed later while three others managed to escape, police said.

Police recovered some arms from the killed guerrillas. The incident took place in the state's southern tip, about 390 km south from here.

Chhattisgarh is one of the 13 Indian states hit by Maoist violence. According to police, the state has witnessed about 200 killings in the first four months of 2007 due to Maoist violence.

NAGPUR: Whenever prominent naxal cadres—especially those with Maoists links are arrested—it is seen that the city’s pro-Maoist frontal organisations have roped in sympathiser activist groups to support those behind bars.

Given this, police sources are not at all surprised to hear voices of protest from a group supporting the arrested ‘courier’ Arun Thomas Ferreira, who is also state committee member.

In August 2005, hard-core Maoist Madan Lal—a state committee member—was nabbed by Nagpur police along with Shantanu Kamble from Mumbai. Kamble—whose arrest had triggered a similar outcry—was the leader of Vidhrohi Sanskrutik Chalval, a pro-Maoist outfit.

"These are the city-based frontal organisations of the Maoists who are creating a false impression to project a misleading picture about the investigating agencies," said a police source. "They are the same people who raise their voice under the garb of seeking justice to highlight naxal encounters as fake or exaggerate injustice to Dalits (as in Khairlanji case)," said a police source.

Though there was not much outcry about his release, Madhukar alias Kavali Yadyya—another resident of Mumbai working for a labour union—was one of the Naxals arrested by Gadchiroli police in January 2005. He was reportedly a member of Charbhatti dalam. Another Mumbai-based social worker Dilip Wankhede—an active member of Kurkhera dalam—is still absconding. He was sent from Mumbai to take part in the active Naxal activities and was working in the arms factory near Katol.

Meena alias Manju alias Seema Hirani, another Mumbai resident—and wife of Vijay, member of central committee and secretary of Maharashtra state committee, was also known to be an active Maoists leader in the state. Seema, like Ferriera, was an active member of Vidyarthi Pragatisheel Sanghathan in Mumbai, said a source. She joined Kurkhera dalam and was commander of the group for about four years. She later moved to Surat as the secretary of Surat urban area committee. She is active but underground in Surat and surrounding areas, revealed a police source.

Similar voices of protests were heard when the Chandrapur police arrested Viplab Teltumde, Bhaskar and other pro-Maoist activists. Claiming that Teltumde was a social activist and an intellectual, his sympathisers had provoked much criticism regarding the arrest and police action. The self-styled fact-finding committee was reported to have come alive to project an innocent image of Teltumde. Being a LLB student, Viplab was known to be organising students to work as pro-Maoist following his uncle Milind Teltumde’s instructions, claimed a police source.

A Nagpur-based professor in sociology Dr Anuradha Gandhi, who also taught at the Nagpur University, is alleged to have masterminded several movements in the city. Police sources allege that she works under pseudonyms ‘Narmada’ and is a state committee member at present. In Nagpur, she used to mobilise students (VPS), youth (NBS) and women’s organisations and for the cause of the Maoists.

Arrested by Nagpur rural police in 2004, Maoist leader Mallesh alias Vikram alias Saili, a deputy commander of Deori Dalam and also a member of the Chandrapur’s area committee, had reportedly confessed about the activities of the naxal frontal organisations in Vidarbha. He reportedly had disclosed about the training camp of CPI (Maoist) at Wardha. Mallesh’s wife Kavita Yerme and her sister Varsha are also known to be active in Tanda Dalam.

Another Maoist Kataiya Saili Kusum, who was arrested in June 2006, made similar revelations. During their interrogation, they disclosed vital information regarding the involvement of the city’s educated brass in the functioning of the city’s frontal organisations.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Hyderabad, May 16:The Andhra Pradesh Government today announced allocation of Rs 16 crore for the rehabilitation of 334 extremist families in the State.

In a post-Cabinet press briefing here, State Energy Minister Mohd Ali Shabbir said rehabilitation would be provided to the families of slain naxals, surrendered extremists and arrested naxals. In all, families of 334 extremists would be benefitted by the funds allocated this year.

Referring to the recently-concluded 'Prajapatham' programme taken up in a big way in the State, he said Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy had instructed the State Chief Secretary to submit within three months an Action Taken Report on the problems, which came to the notice of the Government during the programme.

Mr Shabbir said the Cabinet had ratified the proposal of forming 50,000 Self Help Groups (SHGs) under the Indira Kranthi Patham programme this year. At present, six lakh SHGs were functioning in the State.

Stating the Government would implement the power connection scheme in urban areas on the lines of the Rajiv Gandhi Grameena Vidyutikarana (RGGV) scheme, he said the Government would provide power connection at the cost of Rs 125 to poor families in towns.

where the INDIRAMMA programme was launched last year. This new scheme would be implemented with the State Government's funds. UNI

Naxalbari (West Bengal), May 16 : On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Naxalbari uprising, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) has demanded abandonment of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Act of 2005, saying it is an anti-peasant and pro-capitalist policy.

"The SEZ Act is completely unwanted and unnecessary. It is an anti-peasant, anti-development piece of legislation, which has no validity. So, we demand that it should be scrapped. We are against any kind of land acquisition. In such land acquisition attempts by whichever government, we are siding with the peasants," said Dipankar Bhattacharya, All-India General Secretary, CPI-ML.

Special Economic Zone (SEZ), a geographical region with liberal economic laws, was earlier seen as a tax-free haven for private players that would lead to an import boost.

The ambiguities over the land acquisition procedure for SEZ have reportedly attracted many big and small companies.

Consequently, the SEZs have been facing stiff resistance all over the country and the worst hit projects have been at Singur and Nandigram in West Bengal.

Fourteen persons were killed in a police-protestors clash reportedly initiated by farmers to vent their grievances against the acquisitions of their lands at below market standard rates for private players to develop SEZ early this year.

To mark the 40th anniversary of the Naxalbari movement that was launched in 1967 by Charu Mazumdar, Kanu Sanyal and Jangal Santhal, the CPI-ML (Liberation) has also launched Krishak Jagaran Yatra, a state-wide campaign among peasants from Naxalbari.

--- ANI

Recently Charu Mazumdars's family sold his land to property Developers , I think Naxalism is a business , stealing from rich and selling back to (rich?) and making money ?

Reetesh Kumar SahuTuesday, May 15, 2007 (Raipur)The exhumation of six bodies in Punjer village in Dantewada district has left the Chhattisgarh police ducking for cover.

An inquiry has been set up to investigate whether it was a fake encounter. ''We are probing the incident. If police officers are found guilty, they will not be spared,'' said Ankit Garg, Investigating Officer.

Villagers say a month ago, some policemen had picked up six people for a road project. Their bodies, which were later found in an adjoining village, had bullet wounds.

Afraid villagers buried the bodies without creating a fuss and fled the village but people from neighbouring villages got wind of the incident.

It was only after some newspapers reported the incident that the police got going and the bodies were dug out.

''Policemen took them, saying they wanted directions and killed them,'' said a villager.

Vague FIR

Despite the testimonies of villagers, the FIR filed says that though the attackers were ''unknown people'' in uniform, they could have been Naxalites since they often attack in the guise of police personnel.

Doctors who conducted the post mortem say the bullets were fired from close range, ruling out an encounter.

''Lot of encounters take place in the forests. Naxalites attack dressed in police clothing. Encounter incidents are probed at the magisterial level,'' said O P Rathore, DGP, Chhattisgarh.

With questions being asked about the police's role in fake encounters, senior police officials are making token gestures to reassure villagers.

Some policemen have been asked to undergo a test identification parade and the department is also thinking of transferring the case to another investigating agency.

Human casualities due to Naxal violence were less in UP as compared to Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh, despite a five-fold increase in such cases in the state this year.

According to the 2006-07 annual report of the Union Home Ministry, 1,509 Naxal incidents took place in the country in 2006-07, causing 678 deaths (521 civilian and 157 security forces). In 2005-06, the country witnessed 1608 Naxal incidents causing 677 deaths. In UP, Mirzapur, Chandauli and Sonebhadra are the Naxal-affected districts and five deaths were reported in 2006-07. The report said, 11 Naxal-related incidents in UP in 2006-07 caused five deaths, whereas in 10 Naxal incidents in 2005-06, only one death was reported.

Contrary to the Naxal-related incidents in Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh topped the list of Naxal-related violence in 2006-07, causing 388 deaths. The number of Naxal-related deaths during 2005-06 was 168, an increase of 220 deaths in one year. Jharkhand was second with 124 Naxal-related deaths in 2006-07, as compared to 119 deaths in 2005-06.

Andhra Pradesh stood at the fourth place with 46 Naxal-related deaths out of 183 Naxal incidents that took place in 2006-07. The state, however, had witnessed a trail of death and devastation in the Naxal-related violence in 2005-06 causing 535 violent Naxal incidents leading to 208 deaths.

According to the report, Maharashtra and Bihar witnessed 42 Naxal-related deaths each, whereas 17 Naxal-related deaths were reported from West Bengal in 2006-07 as compared to seven such deaths in 2005-06.

Nine Naxal-related deaths took place out of 44 incidents in Orissa in 2006-07. UP, which saw five Naxal-related deaths in 2006-07 as compared with just one such death in 2005-06, follows next in the list.

NDTV CorrespondentWednesday, May 16, 2007 (Raipur)There is a growing sense of outrage over the arrest of civil rights activist Binayak Sen in Chhattisgarh on unsubstantiated charges of supporting Naxals.

Sen, a pediatrician who has worked in the Naxal-hit villages of Chhattisgarh for many years, was arrested on Monday and sent to Raipur central jail.

The police claim his meetings with jailed Naxal leader Narayan Sanyal prove his links with the rebels.

But Sen argues that both visits were under police supervision.

''I was not doing anything secret. Whatever I did was in the cause of human rights and not to further the interests of CPI (Maoists),'' he added.

Earlier in the day, a delegation met with Home Minster Shivraj Patil to urge him to intercede on behalf of Sen and ask the Chhattisgarh government to take back cases against him.

The minister told the group that it was a state issue and asked Sen's well-wishers to approach the National Human Right Commission.

The Christian Medical College in Vellore, where Sen studied medicine, has started a signature campaign for his release.

Active campaigner

Sen has been involved in developing a low cost health programme for tribals.

As a member of the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), he has been a vocal critic of the anti-Naxal Salwa Judum movement.

He was also at the forefront of a campaign to highlight an alleged fake encounter in Dantewada a fortnight ago in which eight people were killed and four are still missing.

A recent PUCL report details 13 fake encounters in Sarbhuja district over the last year.

According to the human rights group, Sen was arrested mainly because of the campaign against fake encounters.

The PUCL believes several activists like Sen have been targetted for questioning the Salwa Judum and branded as Naxal sympathisers.

KARIMNAGAR:Three naxalites - two CPI (Maoists) and one CPI (ML) Praja Prathighatana member — have surrendered to the police in the district.

The police produced them before media persons here on Tuesday.

According to Superintendent of Police Y Gangadhar, the surrendered naxalites were E Gattaiah, E Narayana and N Ramlal Nayak. Gattaiah, 25, is the central organiser (CO) of Manthani local guerrilla squad of Maoist party.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Education will play a pivotal role in the strengthening of two ‘intellectual powerhouses’ — Calcutta and Britain.

Kim Howells, visiting British minister of state at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, said this in Calcutta on Tuesday during the launch of a new British Council initiative — The Lifestyle and Diversity Zone.

“We need to make sure that intellectual connections between these two powerhouses get stronger. The next generation of jobs will involve brain power over brawn,” said Howells, stressing the importance of knowledge in today’s era.

From exchange of knowledge resources to sharing information on security issues, the British minister is in town with a packed agenda.

“I will be meeting the chief minister this evening and we will discuss a wide range of issues,” said Howells.

He made it clear that he was keen to pick the West Bengal government’s brains about security issues, which is part of his brief as a minister of state at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

“If you look around India, it is part of a very volatile region. It is a tough neighbourhood to live in. We want to share as much information with the Indian government as possible with regards to security and terrorism, be it Naxalite or Islamic,” said Howells.

Issues like climate change and potential of agriculture in the state will also figure in the discussion agenda.

CUTTACK: Expressing concern over the increasing Naxalite menace and missionary activities across the country, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has announced that it would intensify efforts to wean away the vulnerable sections of the population from such elements.

Talking to mediapersons here on Tuesday, all India joint secretary and head of service wing of VHP Prof Madhukar Dixit said that states like Andhra, Orissa, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhatissgarh, Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir and North East would be the thrust areas for the organisation.

The VHP would launch a wide range of welfare programmes in terms of health, education, employment, women's empowerment, etc., particularly for the people in the backward pockets of these regions.

"The naxals and missionaries have taken advantage of the backwardness of the people to weave dreams and take them into their fold. In Orissa of the total 10,000 panchayats, 4,000 are in the tribal areas, where basic services are yet to reach the people", he said.

The organisation would build schools, health institutions, orphanages and destitute homes, impart vocational training to the people to bring in social uplift.

Dixit said that for Orissa the target is to establish a presence by way of working on at least one project in each of the panchayats within the next five years. It also aims to establish its presence in each of the 11,000 blocks of the country within the next half a decade.

NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday informed Parliament that naxalites were working in close coordination with some terrorist outfits operating in J&K and were also in touch with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of Sri Lanka."Though the government has no documentary evidence of any memorandum of understanding signed between international terror outfits with naxalites in the country, we have enough information suggesting that there is coordination between them," home minister Shivraj Patil said in the Lok Sabha during zero hour.

Patil said it was difficult for the government to interfere in security matters in some states as the dispensation there did not take it very kindly. He said this in an oblique reference to the naxalite problem in Chhattisgarh, which, according to him, accounted for 40%-60% of all Naxal incidents in the country.

He said the government had provided UAVs to anti-naxal paramilitary forces deployed in the state which has so far only been used by the Army to gather intelligence on movement of ultras.

Meanwhile, minister of state for home Sriprakash Jaiswal said cases of foreign funding for terrorists in Kashmir had increased in the last three years. In a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha, the minister said some expatriate Kashmiri and other Muslim organisations abroad were involved in channeling funds to terrorist outfits in J&K.

According to the figures tabled in Lok Sabha, 16 cases of foreign funding were reported in 2006 against 12 in 2005 and four in 2004. Jaiswal said the government had constituted a Special Economic Intelligence Cell to obtain hard and actionable inputs on terrorist funding

The Centre has rolled out a red carpet to IPS officers willing to serve in Jharkhand. The invitation, however, has failed to evince any response across the country from the elite men in the Khaki.

Since 2005, the Centre has been sending directions to all states governments, seeking them to depute "bright and willing IPS officers to Jharkhand." The Centre has been issuing such directions after Jharkhand made a series of representations to it, highlighting that the state was woefully short of IPS officers.

"The latest such direction was issued on April 15, 2007," Home Secretary Sudhir Triptahi told HT. " The State Government is still waiting for a favourable response to this effect," said a senior IPS officer.

Jharkhand is faced with an unprecedented shortage of IPS officers. It is left with only 70 IPS officers (excluding those on the Central deputation) to man the 110 cadre posts in Jharkhand police. Not surprisingly, more than a dozen districts are being manned currently by State police service officers, who are yet to be promoted to the IPS ranks, while about 25 per cent senior IPS posts - officers who play a vital role in police administration investigations - are lying vacant.

The out-of- the box solution mooted by the Centre, according to a section of IPS officer, has apparently failed to yield desired effects because the Centre's letter mentions that the "IPS officers are required in Jharkhand to fight the Naxalites."

"This is in fact a de-motivator. Besides, the officers are unwilling to stay in Jharkhand on deputation due to operational difficulties and a lack of incentives," a senior IPS officer told HT.

Officers, however, also blame the governments, the centre and the State, besides the Union Public Service Commission for having no long-term perspective. The shortage affects efficiency in multiple ways, they said.

Worse still, a number of IPS officers of Jharkhand cadre have shown inclination for central deputation. "It is not that the grass appears greener on the other side of the fence. On the contrary the service conditions, privileges and perks in Jharkhand are far better than what the government of India offers," said a senior IPS officer.

"In Delhi, if you are on deputation below Joint Secretary level, you have to travel by public transport. In Jharkhand, the same officer would get a pool car which would be at his disposal all the time," said a senior IAS officer.

But, the State Government's inclination to post promoted IPS officers at crucial posts while leaving several regular IPS officers shunted to look after insignificant departments has also been a huge de-motivator, said an officer.

The city police have decided to take a stern stand against those who try to take strong exception to the arrest of four Naxalites and sympathise with Mumbai-based Maoist Arun Ferreira, asserted police commissioner, SPS Yadav. Reacting to the statement of Ferreira's Mumbai "friends", who are coming in Nagpur on Wednesday to ascertain the reasons for his arrest, Yadav said that prima facie evidences have established that Ferreira was a hardcore Naxalite and was very close to the CPI (Maoist) top brasses.

The Mumbai-based friends of Ferreira said that he was innocent and were quite apprehensive about his police safety. Some of his St Xavier's days friends, are coming in Nagpur on Wednesday and are likely to brief a vast cross-section of people about the incident.

In a major breakthrough, the Nagpur police arrested four Naxalites, include Ferreira and top extremist, Murali Sattya Reddy on May 8 at Deekshabhoomi. While Murali was one of the top leaders in Naxalite hierarchy, Ferreira was a communications and propaganda strategy expert. "We have enough evidences that show that Ferreira is a hardcore Naxalite. During our investigations we learnt that he and Murali, a divisional secretary of the Naxalite group, were staying together in the city. If he was innocent why did he throw a pen-drive and diary when the police reached the spot and were trying to arrest them on May 8?" Yadav asked and informed that the pen-drive contained several revealing information, including minutes of secret meetings of Naxalites' organisation and its strategies.

Moreover, police seized a 9mm Chinese-made pistol, two magazines, 16 rounds of ammunition, two VCDs, an MP3 CD, a notepad containing information on manufacture of improvised explosive devices and use of walkie-talkies from them. "Can a simple person carry such materials? How can they justify their acts?" he further asked. Yadav continued, "he might be a bright and sobre student during his college days. But that does not mean that he is still carrying his past. It is utter shamelessness to defend persons associated with a banned organisation like the CPI (Maoist)," a furious CP said.

According to the city police super, Ferreira is close to Vishnu, the chief of the Maharashtra unit of CPI (Maoist). Ferreira and his three associates were booked under 10, 13 and 20 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

Meanwhile, the committee for the protection of democratic rights (CPDR) filed a writ petition before the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court on Tuesday against the police torture of four alleged Naxalites, including Ferreira.

While filing the petition, it said that the JMFC Court in Nagpur did not take any cognizance of these accused, who pointed out before the court the torture by the police during "interrogation". The petitioner also raised the issue of safety and security of these accused. The court served notices to the state home department and local police to file their replies by June 6 next.

Talking to Hindustan Times, Surendra Gadling, the counselor of Ferreira said that they would oppose the police move for narco-analysis test and braining-mapping in the court on Wednesday.

BHUBANESWAR: The State Government will submit Rs 35.37-crore proposal for modernisation of the Police force keeping in view the increasing Naxal activities in the State.

The Home Ministry has convened a meeting of the Home Secretaries at Delhi on May 25.

Home Secretary TK Mishra, who had a discussion with senior police officers including the Director-General of Police here on Monday told media persons that half of the fund meant for police modernisation will be spent on the Naxal-infested areas.

Apart from police modernisation, the State will submit a proposal of Rs 15 crore to the Centre for the security of the women under trials and welfare of their children.

It is shame to literate Kerala, where political awareness is high, that almost 50-60 people die every year in police lock-ups and custody.

The records of both Congress-led UDF and CPM-led LDF are unenviable with regard to custody deaths. While almost 180 people died in suspicious, mysterious circumstances and of torture in lock-ups during the 2001-2006 UDF rule, almost 36 people have died during the one year of LDF rule. Almost 14 people died during the first three months of Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s home ministership.

The CPM allies with the police to destroy the RSS, especially in Kannur, the killing field of CPM-RSS confrontation. RSS worker Chandran was killed in Alappuzha recently due to CPM-police bonhomie. Tomin J. Thachankery, senior IPS officer, recently involved in the multi-crore CD scam, is close to the CPM and does undercover operations for CPM channel Kairali. Karunakaran chela DGP Raman Shrivastava has now become the boot-licker of Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. Moreover, CPM systematically infiltrates its cadre into all levels of police hierarchy and they act at beck and call of CPM leadership, in or out of power. The CPM uses its police network to extract secret information, discredit ruling Congress regime and further its cell rule. Of late politicisation, criminalisation and commu-nalisation are complete with reports of terrorist NDF infiltration in police and retired Muslim policemen training NDF cadres.

It is a shame to Kerala police that officials like Tomin and Shaji (who beheaded his bus driver, cut him to several pieces and deposited his parts in several places, since he suspected illicit relation with his wife) exist in Kerala.

The LDF made a hue and cry when Udayakumar, a scrap dealer, was tortured to death by rolling, since he refused to part with the money he had, to the men at Fort Police Station, Thiruvanan-thapuram. The CPM made it an electoral issue, plastering Kerala with Udayakumar’s wailing mother’s photo. But the same CPM is colliding with the three policemen charged with murder, to water down the case and let free the police murderers, since they are ex-SFI/DYFI men.

With such dismal criminal records in the police force ruled intermittently by both CPM and Congress, both are making a hue and cry about the encounter death of a fundamentalist, criminal and gangster Sohrabuddin in Gujarat, about whom intelligence inputs of two states have warned of being a threat to Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s life. Even after the bombing of London railway stations, a person got shot and killed, since police suspected his movements. This is a natural situation.

The motive of CPM and Congress is to attack Shri Modi with any weapon in their hands, which is pitiable and condemnable. Anti-Modism is a gold mine for CPM and Congress seeking minority vote banks.

The police, which should be a succor, at this stage, where common man’s life has become unbearable, is sadly to say, pitiable. The 35,000 strong police, with outdated police manuals and world war vintage weapons and equipment is unable to cope up with the high-tech equipments and weapons used by criminals and the latest threat—Islamic terrorism which is backed by ISI, and with no dearth of weapons, equipments and manpower. Moreover as per admissions by home ministers and top police officials and criminologists almost 40 per cent of the police including IPS officials are corrupt and criminalised and are in nexus with various mafia and criminal activities going on in the state. Despite having a high component of graduates, post-graduates, doctorate holders, lawyers in its fold, training methods are still primitive. The police officers and policemen are imparted training in third degree torture methods and voicing of sub-standard abuses.

The credit for criminalising and politicising the Kerala police goes to K. Karunakaran, former Congress Chief Minister. Police officials like present DGP Raman Shrivastava, the then DIG Jayaram Padickal, the then SP Lakshmana to name a few acted like his domestic servants. The torture and death due to rolling (urutal) of Rajan (during emergency) took place during his implementation of the draconian regime. Congress leaders took sadistic pleasure in hearing the cries of tortured RSS men over telephone. The murder of arrested Naxalite leader Varghese during emergency is now under CBI probe due to disclosure of the repentant constable who confessed of shooting him point blank.

CPM cell rule in police—Ramesh Chennithala

Youthful Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee President Ramesh Chennithala, speaking to Organiser said that CPM has a major chunk in the police. “There are CPM committees in the police force and jails. They act in a nexus and attack persons belonging to opposing ideologies in police stations and jails. Jails like Kannur had become the red forts of CPM, so that RSS prisoners had to be shifted en bloc to Thiruvananthapuram. CPM is implementing cell rule in police stations to torture opponents. The 19 custodial deaths in the first few months of CPM rule cannot be tolerated by a civilised and educated society like Kerala. Police atrocities are increasing and people jump into rivers on seeing police. What more can you expect from the police ruled by Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who said CPM would make bombs in police stations?” he asked. He called for strict implementation of Supreme Court guidelines on arrest, avoid political recruitment in police and compensation for family of custodial death victims, from the policemen’s emoluments.

CPM-police nexus targeting RSS—O. Rajagopal

Former union minister and senior BJP leader O. Rajagopal said, although Karunakaran started criminalising and politicising police, during the emergency, when Rajan and Naxalite Varghese were eliminated through police torture, the CPM followed it up. “By Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s own opinion, 40 per cent of the police force is criminalised. By politicising police CPM is committing excesses on political opponents. CPM is taking law into hands. In Tirur CPM colluded with police to attack RSS. Similarly in Alappuzha the local police colluded with CPM to eliminate Karyavah Chandran. When such atrocities take place in the state ruled by CPM and Congress, intermittently, what moral right do they have to attack the Gujarat government on an incident, which was done based on intelligence reports.” He concluded that these are political games to attack BJP and Shri Modi and nothing else.

Police criminalised—Dr. James Vadakumcherry

The LDF made a hue and cry when Udayakumar, a scrap dealer, was tortured to death by rolling, since he refused to part with the money he had, to the men at Fort Police Station, Thiruvananthapuram. The CPM made it an electoral issue, plastering Kerala with Udayakumar’s wailing mother’s photo. But the same CPM is colliding with the three policemen charged with murder, to water down the case and let free the police murderers, since they are ex-SFI/DYFI men.

International expert on criminology, faculty in police training colleges, world over Dr. James Vadakumcherry says the police had got criminalised and politicised. “The police are doing 600 types of crimes including false FIRs, false witnesses, torture and custodial murders. The police are involved in nexus, enforcement, white collar and mafia-related crimes. 600 anonymous dead bodies are found on railway tracks, ditches, forest etc. every year, many of which may be abandoned by police after torture deaths.” He concluded by saying the police do not have modern systems of investigation like lie detector and brain mapping and are using torture to extract information. He called for redrafting of IPC to professionalise crime detection and conviction.

Umesh Chandra

Umesh Chandra, IPS was bold and daring in dealing with the naxalites. He relentlessly pursued the apprehension of extremists, naxalites and other anti-social elements. He planned and led all counter-terrorist operations himself.